Jargons Galore!

I am a novice to blogging and already my friends tell me "dho da... peter arambichitan !!".

Well I never intended to do that at all. Then again, I am so obsessed with finding the right word that my blog is actually becoming true to its name. Highly "Prosaic". Well, I am making all necessary efforts to loosen up....

I just read an excerpt from Chetan Bhagats, "5 point someone" and found it thouroughly amazing. I totally agree with him that the geeks of our times have to get down on all fours to have a good time with a gal....refraining from discussing sudden but revelating and logical thoughts that might arise in our minds. For, just the other day, I was with one of my colleague in my university bookstore. It was raining that day (I love when it rains. Makes you feel dense) and she was raving about how beautiful she thought the rain was and stuff when she asked what were my views on "dancing in the rain". Well, immediately my logical sense took precedence and I said "You'll just get WET!". dddrrrrring !!!!!!! Wrong Answer, cos she just snarled at me twitching her nose and walked away. I was successful in destroying the moment for her. "How Pathetic are you engineers!", was her comment.

I take the opportunity to solemnly apologize to the engineering community for this masterpiece!

Coming back to my topic, I always wanted to discuss the fundas of using jargons. The world as we know it is filled with it! I believe that we are a witness to a change in paradigm! A rule of the colloquial tongue. For example, you generally greet your friends saying "Hey machi. Whatz goin on da?" Going through the various words, it really doesn't mean anything... but to us chennaiites, thats just a normal way to greet someone.

That's Chennai english for you! A blended potpourri of jargons! You take your car to your friend's place and tell him "let's go for a ride down ECR", "COOL DA" he says. Charles Dickens could never have comprehended that statement. For him the autumn and winter breeze is "cool" and not taking a ride on a placid highway with the sun raging in the sky.

I guess its just the "What’s up Doc!" generation. Walt Disney's Roger rabbit had such an influence in society that the jargon caught up to be a normal statement. Obviously, because of the influence of the western world, we too have caught up with using these jargons. The influences of satellite TV, listening to rock on Mtv (good old days) have literally changed the way teenagers converse nowadays.

All said and done, the westernized clan in any place would still be "peter" to a local chennaiite. The pseud nature of people to be different making anglicized Tamil a medium of communication. So whenever someone says "dho da peter.." I always feel, well some time or the other the change is gonna get to you too !!

Critics and Perception.

The word "critic" has always amused me. "critic" by definition is "somebody who makes a judgment about or an appraisal of something or somebody and gives comments". They are the one and all of the present day media. But the question remains, who are these guys to publicly question the fecundity (this is a new word I learnt which means "the ability to produce many different and original ideas"... aint it cool?) of the artists and chefs all round the world? Then I figured that in this "just" world, mankind would never allow such injustice to flourish. So, I began to contemplate on why the world has accepted them as an integral part of their lives. I started to look around and found innumerable examples of things influenced by critics. In a broad spectrum of things, there are surveys (which I believe is a very scientific approach), opinion polls, reviews, feedbacks and the list is never ending. I read an interesting article on "perception" which helped me consummate a conclusion to my quest, the quest for understanding the minds of people who believe in affirmation of their thoughts and ideas, the quest to undestand the never ending longing of the mind for appreciation and how these intelligent critics use the analysis to make a living.

"Perception" (the process of using the senses to acquire information about the surrounding environment or situation) is the key to many of these questions. I believe a simpler definition for perception is "point of view". No two people in this word are the same and so their perception of things is always different. But what makes people unite and raise a voice coherently about any issue? The answer lies in the fear of being totally different. This fear drives mankind to affirm their ideas and thoughts by someone else. This is where "critics" play their part in this world. I am sure most of us would sample any movie based on "reviews". What are these "reviews" exactly? They are merely different points of view. Our minds are programmed to accept the "common idea" or be a part of the majority. No one wants to be left alone and this is a fact.

Essentially the idea of perception in today's world is to pick sides. No one want to be left alone in a metastable (metastability in digital microelectronics is a state between a "1" and a "0" which is unstable. In layman’s terms its a thrishangu swargam) state. This is the very crux of opinion polls and people doing things based on rave reviews by critics. Hey, now I have obtained a nascent respect for critics and what they do. They help a blind folded society find what they want to see. They guide even an imbecile to the treasures of art and media.

But how do these facts explain great empires and civilizations that have evolved through the centuries based on the vision and ideals different from the ordinary. The only explanation that I could find was that these people were not afraid to be different! They thought "why not!". This explains various ideas like "communism", "capitalism" and so on. Now I am really in a fix. There are people who revolutionize the society with their brave new thoughts and those who pick up the paper to read through reviews to watch a movie!

Well I am still confused. The only decent explanation I can find is that, in this world with complex minds, each having their own perception, mankind always looks for a stable state to settle down. They group themselves together in sections that have obtained a relative equilibrium with this world. The "critics" are hence like traffic constables ushering mankind to a certain direction. It is not necessary that the direction is the right way, but hey! It’s a "point of view". They do this selflessly not knowing the quantum of minds they are influencing. So, the next time you read a review and frown because you disagree with him/her, get this - "its just a perception". Either you agree with the perception or not. Its as simple as that. But remember, if you review an event youself and then read through a critic's review, you would be amazed at how coherent your ideas are!

Dare to be different because that is what revolutionizes the world and do respect the perception of others because you never know if that perception is going to revolutionize the world we live in !!

LIFE

Get a life ! someone told me. "Where do you find it?", was my immediate question. "Google ?" I thought to myself. Really, where do you get a life? Is life all about performing your routine chores you do everyday? That would be mere existence which every species in this world is capable of doing. Life should mean more than that. I heard an inspirational speech once about "VISION" and "AMBITION" during my graduation ceremony. During this speech and for a brief period of time after that, I felt a tingling feeling in my body. It felt good then but I lost it as it faded away just as a tide recedes from the beach.

Now and then I think about it and every time I do, I feel I have a revelation. Then I thought I would look for an answer in a logical way being an engineer and all that ! The first thing to do would be to form a hypothesis. So here was my hypothesis about life.

Life - A cryptic quest of the species homosapiens through out which they try to understand themselves !

"This is a fair start ", I thought to myself. Then the logical step would be to gather experimental facts that would supplement my hypothesis. I had to look for a "Target Population" in statistical terms to draw a conclusion. Well what better target population exists than the world itself? Great ! I started off interrogating everyone ! Some results are really amazing and I would love to share it with you.

Person 1: For her, life's definition and content were her family. She loves her kids and her husband. That is all to it isnt it? She asked me. I was so confused with that answer that I just ended up agreeing to her. After a while I tried to obtain a certain classification to this definition to life. "Life of a dependent". I had just coined the first category of my sampling data base. A dependent (The word is misleading. A dependent provides so much to the one or many she depends on, that it is very difficult to analyse who depends on who ? ) defines life with the other human beings that she is associated with. The dependent is incomplete without them and strives to keep that bond strong between them.
Life to them is simple. They are engrossed in the well-being of a close knit group. When they are together they are in perfect harmony just as chords of a 6-string guitar. Together they find eternal bliss and are perfectly joyous. Funny part is that this category never put too much thought into such questions and I guess the reason is that they are in equilibrium when they are sharing life with those close to them.

Person 2 : He is the successful person who talks about "VISION" and "AMBITION" like the person who spoke to us on our graduation ceremony. For him, life is "OPPORTUNITY". When he said that, I was awe-struck by his exuberance. He was the kind of guy who would take no shit from anyone. He believed that life's definition is success. The way you use your opportunities to reach your ambition. He did not need anyones help because he feels he and only himself can make a difference. "Life of an Independent".
Though this category seemed to attract my admiration, there was a degree of coldness in them which was repulsive. For them love, emotion and such mushy things were just a waste of time. As a person he was alone but thoroughly successful.

Person 3 : This is the category which was maximum in number in the distribution (Thankfully). "Life of the Interdependent" the category of balanced strengths and weeknesses. They are the responsible sons, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters of a family. They are the "good employees" and "nice employers" who strike a balance in their lives. Life to them is a mixed bag of interesting and uninteresting things.

Then I decided to accumulate my results to help sort out the results of the survey. Of course the "Interdependent" category won the survey hands down but what in their view was life? The answer to this is very confusing. The meaning of life for them is always relative. Relative to their profession, to their position in the family and to the kind of existence that they were going through. When you ask them "what is your Life", they are perplexed. They are not able to alienate themselves from this world. They are so tightly knit with bonds that are too sacred to break free.

I guess as any scientist would tell you "Observation" results in knowledge. In this case how do you seperate yourselves from Life to observe it? This is the very crux of self realization according to me. You can never understand what you are unless you are able to apparate and see yourself and make observations. This scientifically is not possible till date. So you see, my hypothesis remains.

Life - A cryptic quest of the species homosapiens through out which they try to understand themselves !

QED.